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Charles Carlo Handy

Biography

Carlo Handy Charles is a dual Ph.D. Candidate in Sociology at McMaster University and Geography at the CNRS Laboratoire Caribéen de Sciences SocialesUniversité des Antilles. Under the supervision of Dr. Vic Satzewich and Dr. Cédric Audebert, Charles's dissertation examines how socio-economic inequalities, homosexuality, and space shape transnational romantic/intimate relationships among Haitian gay men in Haiti, the United States, Canada, France, Dominican Republic, and Brazil. He is also an Adjunct Professor (Sessional Instructor) in the Department of Sociology at McMaster University. He teaches SOCIOL 4J03: Selected Topics in Sociology on Migration, Race, Sex, and Inequality in Online Dating (Fall 2022) and SOCIOL 3P03: Advanced Analysis in Contemporary Sociological Theory (Winter 2023).

Charles has received national and international recognition for his research, such as the prestigious Pierre Elliott Trudeau Scholarship (2019-2022), Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (2020-2023), and the French Convergences Migrations Institute Fellowship (2020-2023). His scholarly work has appeared in Refuge: Canada's Journal on Refugees, BMJ Global HealthInternational Journal of Mental Health SystemsPsychological Trauma: Theory, Practice, Research, and Policy, and the Journal of Loss and Trauma. His public scholarship has appeared in The National Post, The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, La PresseThe Conversation, Le Devoir, CBC, CBC-News, Radio-Canada, BFMTV, Caracas ChroniclesPolicy Options, First Policy Response, MediumONFR+, Daily NewsLERRN, among others. Please refer to his research section for more about Charles's research and publications. 

Charles is an engaged academic who founded the McMaster University Graduate Migration and Mobility Network. He serves on the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Committee at the American Sociological Association International Migration Section (2022-2023). He co-organizes yearly conference sessions and panels for the Canadian Sociological Association's (CSA) Race and Ethnicity Research Cluster (2019-present). He also chaired conference sessions for the CSA Sociology of Migration Research Cluster. In 2019-2020, he worked with prominent Canadian sociologists, such as Dr. Carl E. James and Dr. Alana Butler, to address anti-black racism in Canadian sociology. He is currently a member of the CSA Black Caucus. He is also engaged in community-based research projects, including an ethnographic project led by the Franco-Queer Association and funded by the Canadian Institutes on Health Research (CIHR) on the health of Black LGBTQ+ Francophone Immigrants in Toronto and Ottawa. 

As an advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), he advises Canadian MPs on global issues and served as an appointed member of the Toronto Francophone Affairs Advisory Committee (2019-2022), where he advises the Toronto City Council on trends, projects, and initiatives within Toronto's Francophone communities that can contribute to the city's social, economic, and cultural vitality, b) Supporting the economic competitiveness and business growth of Francophone businesses and businesses supporting Francophone communities, and c) Opportunities for the City of Toronto to work with Toronto's Francophone communities to promote increased engagement in City initiatives. As a member of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation COVID-19 Impact Committee and Advisory Committee for the 2019-2024 Strategic Plan, he engages and educates the public on the implications of the pandemic on marginalized BIPOC communities and international students through the publication of op-ed pieces in leading news media in Canada and internationally.

Charles has merged his passion for academic research with his background in the performing arts. In 2020-21, he co-authored with Dr. Alice Carré the play 'Kap O Mond!', which opened in Paris at l'Échangeur Theatre on January 17, 2022, and is on tour in several cities of France and beyond. Kap O Mond! addresses contemporary Haitian migration issues in France and French humanitarianism in Haiti. In Kap O Mond!, Charles uses his sociology and geography background to show how global issues, such as colonialism, global capitalism, and the North-South divide, affect everyday decisions that ordinary citizens make in their personal and professional lives in both the Global North and South. In 2022, he co-developed with Dr. Mark Osmond a script for the film documentary 'Pigs to the Slaughter' in which he analyses how race, ethnicity, sexuality, socio-economic status, and online technology intersect to shape the latest crypto-currency romance scams, which have defrauded investors of hundreds of millions of dollars globally. 

 

AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION

Sociology of International Migration and Transnationalism

Geography of Migration and Diaspora

Sociology of Gender and Sexualities

Sociology of Race and Ethnicity

Sociology of Internet Technology

Social Inequalities

Refugee Studies

Mental Health

 

SELECTED AWARDS

Congress Graduate Merit Award, The Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences of Canada (2021), Ottawa, Canada

French Collaborative Institute on Migrations Fellowship (2020), Paris, France

Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (2020), Ottawa, Canada

Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Scholarship (2019), Montreal, Canada

The Barkley's of Avonmore Bursary (2019), School of Graduate Studies, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada

Graduate, Entrance and Recruitment Scholarships (2018), School of Graduate Studies, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada

The Michel Baptista Essay Prize (2018), Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean, York University, Toronto, Canada 

York University Graduate Fellowship - Master's International (2017-2018), Faculty of Graduate Studies, York University, Toronto, Canda                                                                     

Outstanding Global Engagement Award (2017), York International, Toronto, Canada                                                                                                                                                        

Best Student Paper Award (2017), York University Sociological Undergraduate Student Association Conference, Toronto, Canada                                                                 

Multidisciplinary Research Award (2017), Université Libre d'Haïti, Cap-Haitian, Haiti

Best Presenter and Best Paper Award for Global Perspectives in International Education (2016), York University, Toronto, Canada

Explo'Ra Sup Bursary (2016), Université Lumière Lyon II, Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Lyon, France.

  

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

Canadian Sociological Association

Canadian Association of Geographers

Sexuality Studies Association

American Association of Geographers

American Sociological Association

Haitian Studies Association

International Sociological Association

Caribbean Studies Association

Education

Teaching

Instructor

SOCIOL 3P03 - Advanced Analysis of Contemporary Sociological Theory, McMaster University, Winter 2023 

SOCIOL 4J03 - Selected Topics in Sociology: Migration, Sex, Race, and Inequality in Online Dating, McMaster University, Fall 2022 

Graduate Teaching Assistant

SOCIOL 1Z03 - Introduction to Sociology (Theory), McMaster University, Fall 2018, Winter, Spring, Fall 2019, and Winter 2022

SOCIOL 2Z03E - Introduction to Sociological Research (Methods), McMaster University, Winter 2020

Guest Lectures

AP/SOCI 4360: Migration Experiences: Theory and Practice, Dr. Luin Goldring, York University, Fall 2022

PSYCH 428: Race and COVID-19, Dr. William Bukowski, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Fall 2020

SOCI 230/ANTH 230: Race and Ethnic Relations, Dr. Alejandro Hernandez, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Concordia University, Summer II 2020

SOCIOL 2ZO3E: Introduction to Sociological Research (Methods), Dr. Lisa Kaida, Department of Sociology, McMaster University, Winter 2020

DEV 1053: Interculturalité et Développement, Dr. Audrey Rousseau, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Fall 2018

Part- and Full-time Teacher

FSL A1-C2 - French as a Second Language, Alliance Française de Toronto, ON, Canada, January - August 2017

FSL A1-C2 - French as a Second Language, Alliance Française de Caracas, Venezuela, July 2011- August 2013

Educational Assistant

Educational Assistant - Collège Louis Jouvet, Villeurbanne, France, September 2015- July 2016

Research

 

RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIPS & INTERNSHIPS

Research Assistant. (2020-present). Immigration Consulting in Sending and Receiving Countries, Growth, Activities and State Regulation, funded by the Insight Grant of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) under the supervision of Vic Satzewich, Principal Investigator. 

Principal Investigator. (2019 - present). Black Refuge: Ethno-Racialization, Nationalism, and the Sociopolitical Incorporation of Haitians in Canada and France funded by France-Canada Research Fund (FCRF) under the supervision of Dr. Vic Satzewich, Full Professor at McMaster University, and Dr. Cédric Audebert, Senior Researcher at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in France.

Research Assistant. (July - August 2018). Citizenship and Employment Precarity funded by Social Sciences Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), Principal Researchers: Dr. Luin Goldring, York University & Dr. Patricia Landolt, University of Toronto. 

Research Assistant. (Sept. 2017- Sept. 2018). Borders of Mass Destruction: Racialization, National Belonging, and 'the Refugee' Principal Researchers: Dr. Kyriakides, C., Canada Research Chair in Ethno-racialization, Citizenship and Social justice at York University, and & Dr. Torres, RD, Full Professor at the University of California, Irvine. 

Research Intern - 2018 Summer Course Centre for Refugee Studies,  Directors Dr. Jennifer Hyndman & Johanna Reynolds.   

Research Intern. (January - May 2016). Espace Projets Interassociatifs, work with the director Olivier Aillaud for Dr. Muriel Bossuroy's course on Intercultural Psychology.  

Research Assistant (June-July 2015). Organizational Psychology for LIP/PC2S Laboratory of l’Université Pierre-Mendès France, and worked with Dr. Robert NGuetsa. 

Research Intern. (January – May 2015). Gérard Philippe Social Centre. work with the Department of Social Psychology at the Université Lumière Lyon II, Bron, France.

 

PUBLICATIONS & INTERVIEWS

Peer-reviewed Articles: 

Caqueo-Urízar, A., Urzúa, A., Aragón-Caqueo, D., Charles, CH, El-Khatib, Z., Otu, A., and Yaya, S. (2020). Mental Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic in ChilePsychological Trauma: Theory, Practice, Research, and Policy. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/tra0000753

Yaya, S, Yeboah, H, Charles, CH., Out, A, & Labonte, R. (2020). Ethnic and racial in COVID-19-related deaths: counting the trees, hiding the forest. BMJ Global Health, Volume 5, Issue 6 (7 June 2020).

Otu, A., Charles, CH. & Yaya, S. (2020). "Mental health and psychosocial well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: the elephant in the room". International Journal of Mental Health Systems https://www.readcube.com/articles/10.1186/s13033-020-00371-w

Cénat, J.M., Charles, CH. & Kebedom, P. (2019, December). "Multiple Traumas, Health Problems, and Resilience among Haitian Asylum Seekers in Canada's 2017 Migration Crisis: Psychopathology of Crossing. Journal of Loss and Traumahttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15325024.2019.1703610

Kyriakides, C., Taha, D., Charles, CH. & Torres, R.  (June 2019). "Introduction: The Racialized Refugee Regime". Refuge: Canada’s Journal on Refugees35(1), 3-7. Retrieved from https://refuge.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/refuge/article/view/40673

Charles, CH. (Manuscript in preparation). Black Asylum: The Interplay between Ethnoracialization and Nationalism in the Reception of Haitians in Canada. Journal of Racial and Ethnic studies. 

Charles, CH. & Vic Satzewich (Manuscript in preparation). The World Refugee Year 1959 – 1960: How Civil Society’s Mobilization Pushed the Canadian State toward Deracialization. Journal of Historical Sociology. 

Charles, CH. & Juárez, AG. « La Recién Dinámica de la Migración Haitiana en Venezuela ».

 

Special Issues:

Kyriakides, C., Taha, D., Charles, CH. & Torres, R.  (June 2019). Guest Editors for the Special Issue "Racialized Refugee". Refuge: Canada's Journal on Refugees. It may be accessed here: https://refuge.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/refuge/issue/view/2320 

 

Public Scholarship and Policy Briefs:

Charles, CH. (May 5, 2022). « To Keep people – and their money safe – regulate online dating ». The Conversation. Retrievable: https://theconversation.com/to-keep-people-and-their-money-safe-online-regulate-dating-platforms-177419

Charles, CH. & M. Osmond. (April 27, 2022). Méfiez-vous du « Crypto Crush ». Le Devoir. https://www.ledevoir.com/opinion/idees/703908/fraude-mefiez-vous-du-crypto-crush

Charles, CH & M. Osmond. (April 20, 2022). « Crypto Crush: Watch out for online romance scams and swipe left ». Retrievable: https://medium.com/@carloh.charles/crypto-crush-watch-out-for-new-online-romance-scams-and-swipe-left-3b745cfc6be2

Charles, CH. (April 8, 2022). « Falling in love or falling for fraud: the dark side of online dating ». CBC Radio. Retrievable here: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/spark/falling-in-love-or-falling-for-fraud-the-dark-side-of-online-dating-1.6410348  

Charles, CH. (March 1, 2022). « Organized crime has infiltrated online dating with new sophisticated « pig-butchering » scams. The Conversation. Retrievable: https://theconversation.com/organized-crime-has-infiltrated-online-dating-with-sophisticated-pig-butchering-scams-177445

Charles, CH. (February 19, 2021). Compendium on COVID-19. Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation. Retrievable: https://www.trudeaufoundation.ca/sites/default/files/2021-02/COVID-19%20Compendium-EN-Double-Page-Feb-18.pdf

Charles, CH. (2020, July). "International students will suffer most from tuition hikes [after the COVID-19 pandemic]" First Policy Response. Retrievable: https://policyresponse.ca/how-do-we-navigate-a-return-to-post-secondary-education/

Charles, CH. (2020, July). "Pandemic has exposed Canada's mistreatment of newcomers". The Toronto Star. Retrievable from: https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2020/07/15/pandemic-has-exposed-canadas-mistreatment-of-newcomers.html

Charles, CH. & Øverlid Veronica. (2020, July). "Tuition hikes exacerbate existing challenges for international students". Policy Options. Retrievable from: https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/july-2020/tuition-hikes-exacerbating-existing-challenges-for-international-students/

Charles, CH. (2020, June). "Penser le monde d'après de façon plurielle et intersectionnelle", La Presse. Retrievable from: https://www.lapresse.ca/debats/opinions/2020-06-21/les-impacts-sociaux-de-la-covid-19/penser-le-monde-d-apres-de-facon-plurielle-et-intersectionnelle

Charles, CH. (2020, May). "Immigrants are worrying about social ties and finances during coronavirus", The Conversation. Retrievable from https://theconversation.com/immigrants-are-worrying-about-social-ties-and-finances-during-coronavirus-137983

Charles, CH. (2020, May). "Systemic Racism should be a policy priority after COVID-19", Medium. Retrievable from https://medium.com/@carloh.charles/white-people-say-covid-19-is-a-human-equalizer-except-when-it-comes-to-systemic-racism-argues-the-770b6c4df05e.

Charles, CH. (2020, March). "Canada's coronavirus changing border policy exposes international students' precarious status", The Conversation Canada. Retrievable from: https://theconversation.com/canadas-changing-coronavirus-border-policy-exposes-international-students-precarious-status-134011 

Charles, CH. (2020, March). "Coronavirus: la grande insécurité des étudiants étrangers au Canada", The Conversation. Retrievable : https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-la-grande-insecurite-des-etudiants-etrangers-au-canada-134313

Charles, CH. (2019, February). "Québec Trump-like Immigration Policies contradict Canada's welcoming image", The Conversation and National PostRetrievable from:https://theconversation.com/quebecs-trump-like-immigration-policies-contradict-canadas-welcoming-image-112482 and https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/quebecs-trump-like-immigration-policies-contradict-canadas-welcoming-image 

Charles, CH. (2018, February). "Is the Petro the Outcome of a Bloody Pact with Evil Voodoo Spirits?", Caracas Chronicles. Retrievable from: https://www.caracaschronicles.com/2018/02/13/haitian-voodoo-petro-case-haitian-perspective/ 

Media Interviews and Public Guest Speaking Events:

Charles, CH. (2020, July). Francophones and COVID-19 in Toronto: https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1718905/comite-francophone-toronto-covid19https://onfr.tfo.org/toronto-francais-coronavirus/https://www.web24.news/u/2020/07/francophones-in-toronto-want-to-be-included-in-the-citys-revival-committees.htmlhttps://lemetropolitain.com/pandemie-et-economie-a-lordre-du-jour-du-comite-francophone-de-la-ville-de-toronto/.

Erin Baxter-Melo. (2020, June). Carlo Handy Charles received a fellowship at the French Collaborative Institute on Migrations. McMaster Faculty of Social Sciences. Retrievable from: https://socialsciences.mcmaster.ca/news/carlo-handy-charles-receives-fellowship-at-the-french-collaborative-institute-on-migrations.

Charles, CH. (2020, June). Où va l’Amérique Noire ? Webinar hosted by Cheikh Nguirane and Steve Gadet from the Université des Antilles alongside Profs. Stéphane Partel, Jean-Louis Joachim, Maboula Soumahoro and Michel Mongote.

Charles, CH. (2020, June). COVID-19 and Rights. Emergence Series Webinar by the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation alongside Former Chief Supreme Justice Beverly McLachlin, Mary Anne Chambers, Prof. Robert Leckey, Prof. Christian Nadeau, Prof. Margarida Garcia, and Journalist Robert Steiner.

Charles, CH. (2020, April). BC international students left out of aid fund by Frances Bula & Xiao Xu, The Globe and Mail. Retrievable here: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-bc-international-students-left-out-of-aid-fund/?utm_medium=Referrer:+Social+Network+/+Media&utm_campaign=Shared+Web+Article+Links

Charles, CH., Hon. Faisal Hassan & Asma Ali. (2020, April). "Virtual Webinar: COVID-19 Informational Webinar for International Students and Newcomer Youths". Retrievable here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/covid-19-info-webinar-for-intl-students-newcomer-youths-tickets-101487606162

Duale, M. (2020, March). My research has been highlighted for the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, LERRN. Retrievable: https://carleton.ca/lerrn/2020/the-urgency-of-racing-forced-migration-conversations-on-the-experiences-of-black-refugees/

Charles, CH., (2020, February). Etienne La tempête des livres en français à Toronto, ONFR+ Retrievable: https://onfr.tfo.org/la-tempete-des-livres-en-francais-sinvite-au-comite-francophone-de-toronto/

Charles, CH., (2019, September). ONFR+.https://onfr.tfo.org/qui-sont-les-huit-torontois-pressentis-pour-piloter-le-comite-francophone/

Charles, CH., (2019, September). Radio-Canada. https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1302998/comite-francophones-toronto-selection

Charles, CH., (2019, September). L'Express. https://l-express.ca/huit-nouveaux-membres-pour-le-comite-francais-de-la-ville-de-toronto/

Charles, CH. (2019, May). "McMaster New Trudeau Scholar studies how national and politics affect migration": Retrievable: https://watchhiv.ca/sociology/news/mcmaster2019s-new-trudeau-scholar-studies-how-nationalism-and-politics-affect-migration

Charles, CH. & Lavau, S. (2018, June). "Les Free-Speech Wars, de l'Intérieur", a written piece on Komokum Medium France. Retrievable from:https://medium.com/@Kum0kun/les-free-speech-wars-de-lint%C3%A9rieur-26496e10149c

Charles, CH. (2017 - present ). I am a regular commentator of Canadian, U.S., and French immigration policies on “Causerie Matinale” by Jean Rood Paul, Radio Translation, Cap-Haitian, Haiti.  

Charles, CH. (2017, October). I was an invited guest to analyze the impacts of the asylum application process on Haitian refugee claimants' mental health, on "Sante Mantal" by Michel Guesly, Radio Translation, Cap-Haitian, Haiti.  

Charles, CH. (2016, July). I was invited as a Guest on the TV show 'L'invité" by Happi D. to discuss a French mission of international solidarity in Cameroon, AfricaTV24, Duala, Cameroon.

Charles, CH. (2016, February). I was interviewed by Ali Zaidi for the socio-artistic project "Hyper Real Portraits of Gender". Ali Zaidi's Art, London, United Kingdom.  

 

MOST RECENT CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

Charles, CH. (2019, December). "Les Migrations et la Caraïbe". http://www.manioc.org/fichiers/V19129. Discutant à la BU de l'Université des Antilles, Schoelcher, Martinque, France.

Charles, CH. (2019, June). "Venezuela: A Transit Space in the South-South Migration of Haitians" at the International Metropolis Conference, Ottawa, ON, Canada.   

Charles, CH. & Vic Satzewich (2019, June). "The World Refugee Year 1959 – 1960: How Canada Moved toward the Deracialization of its Immigration System" at the International Metropolis Conference, Ottawa, ON, Canada. 

Charles, CH. (2019, June). Chair of the sessions "Race and Ethnicity: Macrosociological Processes and Identity Formation" and "Pardon Me, That's My Seat: Navigating through Racialized Spaces" at the 2019 Canadian Sociological Association (CSA-SCS) Congress, University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, Canada. 

Charles, CH. (2019, June). “What Can the Reception of Haitian Asylum Seekers Tell Us about Race and Ethnicity in Canada?" Paper presented at the 2019 Canadian Sociological Association (CSA-SCS) Congress, University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, Canada.

Charles, CH. (2018, October). "Multiculturalisme et Interculturalisme: Comment traiter de la diversité", Guest Speaker at the University of Quebec at Outaouais (UQO), Gatineau, Canada .

Cénat, JM and Charles, CH. (2018, October; 2019, June). « Vulnérabilités, traumas et résilience chez les réfugiés haïtiens en Amérique du Nord : Psychopathologie de la traversée et de l’habiter », co-presentation with Jude-Mary Cénat at the Conference : « Parcours de Résilience : accompagner les réfugiés suite aux traumas », Centre d’Expertise sur le bien-être et la santé physique des réfugiés et des demandeurs d’asile and SHERPA at McGill University, Montréal, Canada; International Metropolis Conference, Ottawa, Canada. 

Charles, CH. (2018, July). “The Interplay between Nationalism and Racialization in the reception of Haitians in Canada”. The Research Committees session “Migration and Perceptions of Racism and Anti-Blackness at the XIX International Sociological Association World Congress of Sociology in Toronto, Canada.

Charles, CH. (2018, June). “Culture, Identity and Belonging in the Haitian Transnational State” at the 43rd Annual Caribbean Studies Association Conference in La Havana, Cuba.

Charles, CH. (2018, June). “The Homemaking Experiences of a Haitian International Student in Canada” at the 43rd Annual Caribbean Studies Association Conference in La Havana, Cuba.

Charles, CH. (2018, April). “What are the repercussions of sending Haitians back to Haiti?” On the panel Neither Here nor There: Remittances, Revenues, Returns, at “Harvard Romance Languages and Literatures Graduate Conference 2018: “Can the Migrant Speak?” Harvard University. 

Charles, CH. (2018, April). “The role of Anti-Blackness in the Perception of Haitians in Canada” in the panel on Ethnic Policies, Politics and Belonging at the 48th Annual Conference of the Urban Affairs Association in Toronto, Canada.

Charles, CH. (2017, October). “Quelles Sont les Répercussions de l’Éminente Déportation des Haïtiens Bénéficiaires du TPS sur l’État Transnational Haïtien? »Invited Talk, Université Libre d’Haïti, Cap-Haitian, Haiti. 

Culture, Inequalities, and Social Inclusion across the Globe. (2017, August). I attended various thematic sessions on racialization, stigmatization, and discrimination, transmigration experiences, and race relations at the 112th American Sociological Association (ASA) Annual Meeting, Montreal, Canada.

Charles, CH. (2017, March). “Haitian Transnationalism: A framework to analyze Cultural Politics of Belonging and National Identity in the Haitian Diaspora in Canada”. Paper presented at the Undergraduate Research Fair with a juried selection and at the Center for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean CERLAC, York University, Toronto, ON.